


I promise

by silversfiction



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Casket of Ancient Winters (Marvel), Gen, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Kid Loki and Kid Thor (Marvel), Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Odin's Bad Parenting (Marvel), Pre-Thor (2011)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:14:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29362344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silversfiction/pseuds/silversfiction
Summary: As soon as their father was out of earshot, Thor pointed at the Casket of Ancient Winters and whispered loudly: “I have a dare for you brother. You have to touch the casket for ten seconds.”Loki rolled his eyes and raised an eyebrow at his brother. “Why would I do that?”, he asked, and he had already decided that he wouldn’t do it.OR Thor dares Loki to touch the casket when they are still kids but he didn’t anticipate the outcome.
Relationships: Loki & Thor (Marvel)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 79





	I promise

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me when I was watching Thor the other night and it just needed to be written.

“A king may never seek war”, Odin said to his sons. “But he must always be ready for it.”  
Loki thought those words over but Thor had already come to a conclusion. “When I am king, I’m going to hunt down the monsters and slay them all.”

Odin didn’t correct his son and started walking out of the weapons vault, Thor and Loki both stayed behind. The brothers exchanged a glance and then Thor seemed to get an idea. The wild gleam in his eyes didn’t bode well for Loki and the younger already braced himself for what was to come next. 

As soon as their father was out of earshot, Thor pointed at the Casket of Ancient Winters and whispered loudly: “I have a dare for you brother. You have to touch the casket for ten seconds.”

Loki rolled his eyes and raised an eyebrow at his brother. “Why would I do that?”, he asked, and he had already decided that he wouldn’t do it. 

Thor shrugged. “If you don’t, you’re a coward.”

Loki shook his head vehemently. “I’m not a coward.”

“Then prove it.”

Loki deflated a bit at that and he knew that he had lost this fight. If he didn’t touch the Casket now, Thor would forever think that he was a coward. But he didn’t want to disappoint father either. Loki turned back to the entrance and couldn’t find Odin by the doors. He turned back to Thor.  
“Fine, I’ll do it.”

Thor beamed with pride because he had won and Loki stepped forward, towards the Casket. It sat on the high pedestal, barely in his reach. Loki reached up with his hands and grabbed the handles in his hands. Thor began counting behind him. 

One. Two.

Something didn’t seem right, Loki had expected his hands to be cold when he touched the Casket but he just felt the coolness of the metal, not the biting cold he thought the relic would emit. 

Three. Four. 

Loki turned to look back to Thor without taking his hands off the Casket. His brother grinned at him and continued counting. 

Five. Six.

Loki turned back to the Casket and focused his gaze in his hands. Something still felt odd, but he couldn’t place it. 

Seven. Eight. 

Loki realised what it was that felt odd. His magic. It was focused on his hands, even though he wasn’t trying to cast a spell. And even though it was his magic, it still didn’t feel right. 

Nine.

Loki’s eyes widened when he saw blue creep up his fingers, covering his skin. 

Ten. 

He ripped his hands away and stared down at them while Thor cheered him on in the background. His hands were blue, they had turned blue and there were darker lines on them. They looked like the hands of a jotun. Of a frost giant. The hands of a monster.

Suddenly, all noise faded away and Loki couldn’t hear his brother anymore. It was hard to breathe and every time he tried to take in a breath, it felt like he was getting less and less air.  
The blue was going away again, slowly but surely. But Loki couldn’t make it unseen. His hands had turned blue because he had touched the Casket of Ancient Winters. 

I’m a frost giant. 

I’m a monster. 

Those two thoughts were racing through his head and one word became louder and louder. 

Monster.

He gasped when a hand touched his shoulder and he whirled around, still gulping for air, his hands held out in front of him as if they were dangerous. He didn’t dare touch anything with them. Thor was standing in front of him, a warm hand resting on his shoulder. 

Loki still couldn’t breathe and he began to feel light headed. Thor looked into his eyes and he was saying something but Loki couldn’t hear him. The hand that wasn’t resting on his shoulder took Loki’s right hand and Loki wanted to pull away, afraid that he would hurt his brother on accident. Father had always told them that the touch of a frost giant burned your skin and that they were dangerous and murderous and out for blood.

Thor didn’t let him pull his hand out of his grasp and then Loki was pulled forward into a hug. He realised that he was crying, salty tears streaming down his face and sobs wreaking through his body, making him shake. His breaths were still short but with the steady heartbeat and the even breathing of his brother right there, Loki slowly calmed down again.  
For a moment he forgot what had just happened and hugged back just as tightly. 

When he was able to breathe normally again and the tears had stopped running down his face, he pulled away. Away from the hug and the warmth of his bro-, no, he realised, not his brother. 

Thor took both his hands in his and waited until Loki would look him in the eyes.  
“Loki, are you alright, brother?”, he asked curiously.  
Loki nodded hesitantly and then he shrugged. Tears were welling up in his eyes again and Thor pulled him back into another hug.  
“I’m a monster.”, Loki whispered into Thor’s shoulder and he didn’t know why he had said it out loud, but it was true. Otherwise his hands wouldn’t have turned blue. 

Thor pushed away from him, resting his hands on Loki’s shoulders. He levelled the younger with a confused look. “Why would you say that, Loki?”

Loki looked back at him with just as much confusion. “Didn’t you see? My hands turned blue when I touched the casket.”

Thor shook his head. “Don’t be silly Loki, I saw it. I thought you did it with your magic to scare me off.”

“But I didn’t. It was real.”

Thor deflated at that and his grin disappeared. “Sorry, I thought it was a trick.”

There was a question burning in Loki’s mind, it had been there the whole time and he was afraid to voice it but he couldn’t stop himself. “Will you kill me now?”

Thor screeched at that. “What?”

“You said you will slay all the monsters.”

Thor shook his head vehemently. “You’re no monster, Loki. You’re my brother. I’ll never hurt you, I promise.”

With those words Thor pulled Loki into another hug and later, when the two of them left the Weapon’s Vault, Thor made Loki promise that he would never say anything about what had happened to their parents. Loki only agreed begrudgingly but he was still too afraid to comprehend what exactly the promise would mean for him later on. 

Over the years he played with the thought of telling them. Telling them that he had found out, that they could stop pretending, but he wanted to see when they’d tell him. They never did. 

And years later, when the coronation neared, he decided that maybe it was time to pay a visit to the monsters of jotunheim. After all, it couldn’t hurt to teach Thor a lesson. Just to see if he would hold on to his words, hold on to the promise that he had given that day. 

You’re my brother. I’ll never hurt you, I promise.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think or drop by on my tumblr @silvers-hero-vault (you can also drop me a comment in the asks if you don’t want to comment here)


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